MARTIN COIWTT 



AND THE OTHEE 



BORDER COXfNTIES OF 



SOUTHERN MINNESOTA 



AND UPPER IOWA. 



PUBLISHED BY 

H. F. SHEAEMAN AND COMPANY, 

138, FLEET STREET, LONDON, E.G. 



/ 



MAETIN COUNTY, 

AND THE OTHEE ^/ 

BOEDEE COUNTIES 



OF 



SOUTHERN MINNESOTA, 



AND 



UPPER IOWA. 



PUBLISHED BY 

H. F. SHEAEMAN AND COMPANY, 

138, FLEET STREET, LONDON, E.G. 



The late John Stuart Mill remarked tJiat, " in co7isidering the question 
of climate in connection ivith emigration, that must be held to be the most 
desirable ivhich is most conducive to bodily vigour and the consequent 
cajKicity to labour ; ivhere nature does most, as in trojncal countries, man 
can do least ; in sterner latitudes, the greater energy of man more than 
compensates for ivinter's drawbacks.'" 

Of the 24:1,000 people ivho emigrated from the United Kingdomin 1874, 
25,000 icent to Canada, 53,000 to Australia and Neiv Zealand, and 
148,000 to the United States. The " Times," in an article referring to 
the increased living expenses in England, and fewer openings for the 
middle classes, recommends as the only remedy for an evil which every 
year grows worse, removal to other regions where the resources of nature, 
her op)en spaces, and her fertility are still far ahead of human industry ; 
and Mr. Walter, M.P., the proprietor of that paper, in a volume pub- 
lished by him ml867, entitled First Impressions of America," remarks 
that ' ' America must be seen to be understood ; and those who visit it 
will pjrobably return with mixed feelings — of pride, at the thought that 
the great ivork of civilization which is rapidly overspreading that 
continent is being carried on by men of our own race and language ; 
and grave reflection, I will not say pfisorrow, at the thought that half 
a century hence America ivill be the most p)Owerful country on the face of 
the earth, and that, as all greatness is relative, our own star loill be on 
the decline." 



AND THE OTHEK BORDEE COUNTIES OF 

SOUTHEEN MINNESOTA, 

AND UPPER IOWA. 



This manual is principally composed of summaries, or extracts from 
State reports, statistics, and other Government publications. Its frag- 
mentary manner is consequent on a desire to condense the greatest amount 
of information into the smallest available space. Its special object is 
to recommend Martin Co^mty, and other adjacent border counties of 
Southern Minnesota and Upper Iowa, to the notice of English gentlemen 
who desire to possess some of the richest agricultural lands in the world, 
combining the advantages of a healthy climate and afruitfid soil, ivhere 
they can live comfortably, and make money. 



The area of Minnesota is 84,000 square miles, or 54,000,000 acres ; 
the State occupies the exact centre of the continent of North America, 
and embraces the sources of the three vast water systems of the States ; 
its name is derived from its principal river, running through the 
southern part of the State, and which the Dakotas named Minne- 
sota " — cloud-coloured, or sky-tinted water. On a tributary of 
this river are the falls of Minnehaha, described in Longfellow's 
''Hiawatha." 

The rapid grow^th of Minnesota in population and wealth has never 
been equalled, even on the American Continent ; the continuance of 
this is causing, and must further cause, a rapid increase in the value 
of its lands. 

The topography of this State is not characterised by either illimit- 
able prairies or vast forests, but by an alternation of woods and prairie, 
upland and meadow. Its general surface is undulating, with great 



4 



picturesqueness imparted to the scenery by its lakes, waterfalls, bluffs, 
and ravines. 

The soil of Minnesota is what is generally known as drift deposit, 
and is chiefly derived from the decomposition of the lower magnesium 
limestone ; it is very fertile and easily worked ; and containing a good 
proportion of sand, is warm, and admits of early cultivation in the 
spring. David Dale Owen, the geologist, describes it as of " excellent 
quality, rich as well in organic matter as in those mineral salts which 
give rapidity to the growth of plants, and that durability which enables 
it to sustain a long succession of crops." Dr. A. H. Hayes, assayer 
to the State of Massachusetts, pronounces it a dark coloured, fine 
textured soil, abounding in organic matter, and highly fertile. It has, 
in fact, a large amount of natural manures, mixed with soil, and 
cannot fail to produce great and permanent fertility. It closely re- 
sembles the sugar-cane soil of the West India Islands." 

Lieutenant Maury says : " Minnesota is far from the sea, but it is 
a better watered country than either Kansas or Nebraska ; indeed, it 
may be considered the best- watered State in the Union." 

General Pope, in a report to Congress, writes: "I know of no 
country on earth where so many advantages are presented to the 
farmer and manufacturer." 

A State pamphlet says : "It unites all the elements, not only of 
successful husbandly, but of delightful landscape in the limits of 
almost every farm." 

The Honourable S. Colfax, a Vice-President of the United States, re- 
marks : " Earth and air and sky unite in assuring a magnificent future 
for this young and vigorous State, Minnesota is the most inviting 
region to which the immigrant can turn his thoughts and his steps." 

The Abbe Em Domenech, in a work published by Longmans in 
1860, says : " The portion of the Minnesota that is watered by the 
Mankato and its tributary streams, surpasses in richness all the 
American ^territories situated above the 43° of N. latitude, by the quan- 
tity of its woods and fertility of its soil." 

Disturnell, author of a work on the " Influence of Climate in North 
and South America," says : " Minnesota may be said to excel any 
portion of the Union in a healthy and invigorating climate." 

" The region of Southern Minnesota presents a body of arable land 
which, taken as a whole, for richness in organic elements, for amount 
of saline matter, and due admixture of earthy silicates, affords a com- 
bination that belongs only to the most fertile upland plains." 



5 



PROFITABLE FARMING BY THE CONTRACT 
SYSTEM. 

Memoranda by Mr. Shearman. 

To anyone icho purchases land in Martin County through this Conqoany 
and wishes to have advice and assistance during the first year of 
his residence there, in which he may lack experience in farming, and 
who also desires to have the substantial accuracy of this Memoranda 
guaranteed to him, Mr. Shearman will engage to make proper contracts 
to have all the crops put in at the prices here specified, and will gladly 
aid with his advice any of those who may settle within reasonable 
distance of him . 

The method here introduced shows how in ordinarily favourable 
seasons the cultivation of certain crops will in the first year yield 
profits more than sufficient to pay for the purchase of the land and 
cost of living. This method is only practicable in the settled parts, 
where labour can be hired. Ordinary business atttention is of course 
necessary to see that the planting, cultivation, and gathering of the 
crops are properly supervised, and that they are not left untended 
for the flocks of wild ducks, geese, and other birds to devour. 

In opening a farm for cultivating beans, the following wo aid be the 
disbursements, viz. : — 

Per Acre 
dols. s. cl. 

NOTE A, For Breaking (ie.. ploughing the sod) . 3.00 or 10 9 

„ B. „ EolUng 35 1 6i 

„ C. „ Seed Beans 1.50 1 94. 

,, D. Labour. Planting, etc. . . .1. 3 7 

Total . , . 17 8 

As no cultivating or hoeing can be done or would be of benefit the 
first year, on the sod, there is no further expense or labour with the 
crop until it is ready for the harvest — 80 to 100 days from the time of 
planting — and the disbursements then are about as follows, viz. : — 

Per Bushel. 

cents, - 



Note E. For Pulling the Beans . . . . ■ . 10 

F. ,. Carting to Machine and Threshing . . 10 

Gr. ,, Winnowing. Assorting, and Cleaning , 02 

„ H. ., Carting to Eailway Station . . . 10 

„ I. Clerk-hire .\ 02 

Total , . U, or Is. Id. 



6 



And the receipts m^y be estimated in an average season as follows, 
viz. : — 

Note K, 25 bushels to the acre — 

„ L, Worth 2 dols. 25 cents per bushel at the • 
farm, clear of cartage and freight. De- 
ducting therefrom the harvesting ex- 
penses, as before set forth — 34 cents per 
bushel — and we have a balance of 1 dol, 

■ 91 cents per bushel, which, with 25 bushels £ s. d 

to the acre, amounts to . . Dollars 47.75 per acre, or 7 15 5 
And taking from that the cost of putting 

in the crop (as before stated) . Dollars 5.85 ,, „ 17 8 
• And it leaves a net profit of . Dollars 41.90 „ £6 17 9 



A FARM OF THREE HUNDRED ACRES CROPPED 
WITH BEANS. 

■In purchasing and working in the foregoing manner a farm of BOO 
acres, the following is a fair statement of Disbursements and Keceip'ts 
the first year, after which it can be made mare profitable, as the cost 
of working will be then rather less, and the more profitable crops can 
be grown : — 

CAPITAL ACCOUNT.— OUTLAY. 



Purchase of 300 acres of land at £3 MOO 

Horse, saddle, etc., £85 ; well and pump, £15 .... .50 
Comfortable framed house, with 5 rooms ; and stable . . . 150 



Total ........ £1,100 

EXPENSE ACCOUNT. 

Interest on £1,100 capital at 10 per cent. . . .. . . 110 

Tloughing and putting in crop of beans or peas . . . . 325 



House expenses for 2 persons and 1 servant ; also horse keep . 100 

£535 

EECEIPTS. -7- 

The net receipts, clear of the expenses at harvest, may be stated 
at from £8 to £12 per acre, according to the yield of the crop 

— say £8 per acre on 300 acres £2,400 

" From which deduct expense account, as above stated . . . 535 

Leaving the balance of^ profit . . . .. . . £1,866 

In these calculations the American dollar is estimated at 3^. 7 d. , which is now 
(January, 1876) its value in London, 

Explanation of Notes. 

Note A. — Breaking — that is to say, ploughing the sod for the first time — 
is done by contract with the farmers ; you simply pay them lis. 6d. per acre 
for the work, and they find the ploughs, horses, their food, etc. Plenty of men 
can be found by advertisement at the price stated ; in fact, we have always 
had many more applicants than we could employ. 



ERRATA OlSr PAGES 5 and 6. 

All the calculations in dollars are correct, hut there is a clerical error in their 
reduction into English money. 

£ s. d. 

On page 6. Instead of £7 los, 5d. the total yield is . . 8 11 1 

„ „ 5 and G. Tho cost 17s. 8tl. should read .... 1 1 

Leaving, instead of £6 17s. 9 J., the balance of profit of £7 10 1 



7 



Note B. — Rolliis^g, after it has been ploughed, is also done by contract, and 
the men furnish rollers, horses, their food, etc. 

Note C. — Seed Beans. The most profitable beans are the "yellow-eyes," 
marrowfats," and *^pea beans;" the best seed will cost about 15.?. 6(^. per 
bushel, delivered at the farm, and it requires about one-third of a bushel to 
plant an acre ; the average has been rather less. 

Note D. — Labour. The beans are planted the first year with a hand- 
planter, in rows about two and a half feet between each bunch, with six to eight 
seeds in a bunch together ; with these hand-planters a man can plant an average 
of two acres per day (with from twenty to twenty-five men in a gang I have 
planted an average of three acres per day to each man, as long as I looked 
after them in the field myself) ; plenty of men can be hired at 5s. 6d. per day. 
The 3s. 9d. per acre for labour is ample to cover the expense of planting and 
carrying the beans into the field, besides the purchase of the hand-planters, 
which cost about 7^. 6d. each. After the first year the planting is done by 
horse-planters, with which one man, with one horse, can put in ten acres per 
day, so that the cost of planting, then, is reduced to 1^. Sd. per acre. 

Note E. — Pulling. This is done by hand-labour, and the men can be 
employed at so much per day, or by the bushel : done by the day, and with the 
men well looked after, it can be done for a less cost than the price given in the 
statement, if there has been a fair yield ; but it costs nearly as much to go 
over the ground when there is little or no yield as when there is a full crop. 

Note F. — Carting and Threshing. After the beans are dried, four or 
five days .after they have been pulled, they are carted to the threshing-machine 
and threshed; this is done by contract with the owner of the threshing-machines. 
The proper machine is a regular bean-thresher, made for the purpose by a Mr. 
Hall, of Rochester, N.Y. 

Note G-. — To Winnow, Assort, and Clean the beans they are run through 
a small hand winno wing-machine that wiU put through, with two men, 1,000 
bushels per day; there has to be a man also to take away the bags, and 
another to feed in the beans ; if well looked after the cost ought not to exceed 
one cent per bushel ; it is put at two cents per bushel in the statement. 

Note E. — The Carting to Railway Station will probably be much 
less next year, as it is expected that the railroad will be extended and a station 
put near these lands. Ten cents per bushel has been paid to the farmers where 
the distance did not exceed 24 miles. 

Note J. — Clerk-hire. Two cents per bushel is more than enough to pay 
two men, one at the threshing-machine and one at the station, to take and keep 
accounts of the beans as they are shipped off, etc. 

Note K. — Number op Bushels per Acre. With a good season the crop 
ought to be not less than 30 bushels to the acre, and on old land, planted by 
horse-planters, the yield will sometimes run up to 40 bushels to the acre ; the 
average crop of beans is given in the Government reports as 27 bushels to the 
acre. Of course, a good yield cannot, under any circumstances, be expected, 
unless care is taken to see that the seed is properly planted in the spring. 

Note L. — Price. Boston, Chicago, and Saint-Louis are all good bean 
markets; in Boston first-class "yellow-eyes" and "pea" beans generally 
bring 9^. to 10^. per bushel, and have been as high as 20-5. per bushel, but 



8 



are now lower than they have been in many years, and are quoted at 9^. to lis. 
for "yellow-eyes," and 9^. to lO^. for " marrowfats " and pea " beans. The 
fi-eight to Boston, from Winnebago City, can be had in the summer or fall at 
from Is. 9d. to 1^. lid. per bushel. 

The beans are shipped in bags which hold 2J bushels, and cost 32 cents each ; 
they are not mentioned in statement of costs, as they are sold, by custom of the 
trade, with the beans, for cost price, and consequently are no loss or cost to 
the farmer. 

Note M. — Hoese, Saddle, etc. Where a person has 300 acres under 
cultivation, it is best to have a horse to ride about and look after the men, etc. 
A good horse, young, sound, and kind, can be purchased for £30, and a saddle 
and bridle for £5 more. 

EEMARKS. 

The crop here specially referred to is one of the best that can be 
produced on the sod, i.e., the first year ; potatoes, beets, onions, and 
all root crops also do very well on the sod ; but with corn but little 
can be done — not enough, I think, to pay for the seed and bother — 
though there have been exceptional cases wherein a tolerable crop 
of these cereals have been grown upon the sod. 

June is the best month to have breaking done ; when done in May 
the grass is apt to come through and grow again, particularly if it is 
a wet season ; and the grass being drier in July, the sod when turned 
then does not rot so well as when the grass is fresh and green in 
June ; furthermore, when the breaking is done in July, it is too late 
to plant a crop on the sod. 

Beans and wheat, in alternation, will undoubtedly be found very 
profitable crops, each promoting a larger crop of the other than could 
be obtained by either alone year after year on the same land, as is 
usual in wheat cultivation in Minnesota. 

I have seen a fine crop of wheat on land upon which wheat had 
been grown for 23 successive years, and this, too, without any change 
of seed, without manure or deep ploughing, and the twenty-third 
crop happened to be the best of them all. Surely land that will stand 
such treatment is rich enough to return a fortune to anyone who will 
work it more intelligently. 

To plough the sod requires four good horses, to purchase which, 
with harness and plough, would require, say £125. Now one man 
working with that outfit would hardly get over forty acres done in the 
best breaking season, so that the ploughing of forty acres would cost 



9 



an outlay of £125 (besides the labour of the man), and the team 
would then remain on hand, an additional care and expense ; but the 
£125 would have 232 acres ploughed by contract, and no work or 
bother but to see the work well done, and no team remaining as an 
expense afterwards. Now therein lies one of the chief elements of 
the great profitableness of this matter : instead of sinking capital in 
horses, etc., and either working hard youself or hiring men, the same 
capital, when the work is done as herein set forth, has more than four 
times as much land worked, and of course there is received more than 
four times as much profit. This way of working is only practicable 
in well settled places like Faribault and Martin Counties, where plenty 
of men, horses, etc., can be hired ; where there are accommodations 
to be had without building, and where fencing is not necessary. 

H. F. SHEARMAN. 



To readers o£ this Memorandum, who think of purchasing some 
of this land, the whole matter would probably be resolved into 
these cardinal questions — as to which they would wish to be satisfied 
— namely : — 

1st. Is the title to the land good ? 

In answer to which they would be referred to the Hon^ Huge 
McCuLLOCH, Banker, 41, Lombard Street, London ; and if they 
wished official information, it is easily obtained from the county 
officers of the respective counties, or from the Governor of the 
State. 

2nd. Are the crops worth the prices- stated herein ? 

In answer to which they would be referred to the prices current 
arriving every week. 

3rd. Are the productions as much per acre as is herein stated ? 

For answer they can be referred to official reports, showing the 
number of bushels raised in each county in the State, together with 
the number of acres and average production per acre. 

4th. Can the land be worked at the price stated ? 

It has been already so worked ; and if desked, Mr. Shearman will 

CONTEACT TO PUT IN THE CROPS THE FIRST YEAR AT THE PRICES HEREIN 
GIVEN. 



10 



OFFICIAL TESTIMONIALS. 



State of Minnesota, Executive Department, 

"Saint Paul, December 3rd, 1874. 

To whom it may concern. 
" I take great pleasure in commending to the kindly offices of all persons 
with whom he may have business or social relations^ Mr. H. F. Shearman, 
an esteemed resident of the County of Martin, in this State. 

^'I am informed that he proposes visiting England, and that he intends 
while there to represent the agricultural and other advantages of that 
portion of the State of Minnesota where he resides . 

" I can state Martin County and the southern portion of Fairbault 
County are regarded, with entire justice, as presenting, in an eminent 
degree, those qualities of soil, water, and climate, which have made our 
State so justly notable as a Wheat and Stock-raising region. 

'^C. K. DAYIS, 

Governor of Minnesota." 



" State of Minnesota, Executive Department, 

" Saint Paul, October 20th, 1873. 

" H. F. SHEARMAif, Esq., 

" Dear Sir, — I hear that you are to spend the winter in Europe, and 
that while there you may offer for sale, on the part of the Trustees of the 
Southern Minnesota Railway, some of the lands which have been granted 
and conveyed to that Company, and are now in the hands of the Trustees 
thereof, and may be sold by them. 

" The lands thus far conveyed to the S. M. R. R. Co. are situated in the 
Counties of Freeborn, Fairbault, Martin, and Jackson, which lie along the 
southern boundary of the State, and for fertility are not to be excelled by 
any other portion of the State. This description, of course, applies to the 
lands as a body or district constituting these counties, and is not meant as 
descriptive of every piece or parcel belonging to the Company. 

" I mean to say only that the great body of those lands are of excellent 
quality, and well fitted for all branches of agriculture. 

'^Anyone at all acquainted with that section of this State cannot say 
less. 

" Yery respectfully, 

"HORACE AUSTIN, 

. " Governor of Minnesota." 



11 



State of Minnesota, Auditor's Office, 

"St. Paul, Lecemher ISth, 1874. 

" To whom it may concern. 
"In reference to the Railroad and other lands, situated in Martin 
County, in this State, represented by H. F. Shearman, Esq., I would say 
that in regard to fertility, location, present and prospective facilities, they 
are perhaps unsurpassed in this State, and I am not acquainted with any 
section of country that offers more inducements to the new settler than the 
beautiful County of Martin, 

"0. P. WHITCOMB, 

Auditor of State." 



From the Bight Rev. the Bishop of the Diocese. 

' ' Fairhault, December 22nd, 1874 
"My Dear Mr. Shearman, — I have been asked by Mr. Drake my 
opinion of the lands on the Sioux City E,.E,. I regard them as rich agri- 
cultural lands, well fitted for the growth of our Minnesota Wheat, and 
there are large districts peculiarly well fitted for Stock Farms, which I 
have always believed will be the most lucrative branch of Minnesota 
farming ; and I have never had any question that it will some day have a 
very dense agricultural population. 

•5f -Sf -X- -^f- -Jf -Sf 

" The country is very healthy, and has a better population than is usually 
found in new countries. There is no portion of the State in which I feel 
a deeper interest. 

* ^ -x- ^ ^ 

^' With kind regards, 

" Yours faithfully, 

"H. B. WHIPPLE." 



"President's Office, 
" St. Paul and Sioux City, and Sioux City and St. Paul Bailroads, 

" St. Paul. Dec. 22nd, 1874." 

" Henry F. Shearmajst, Esq. 

" Dear Sir, — The Land Department of this Company has placed in 
your hands a descriptive list of lands and plants, showing the parcels of 
land owned by this Company in Martin County, Minnesota, U.S.A. The 
list embraces over 40,000 acres of most valuable lands, probable not sur- 
passed in fertility or beauty of surface by any lands in the State. 

"This district is absolutely free from all malarious diseases, and as 
healthy as any in the United States. Interspersed with these lands are 
beautiful lakes, abounding with wild fowl and fish, and the whole surface 
of the earth in summer is covered with rich natural grasses. The soU of 



12 



this region is generally a deep, warm, black loam, easy of cultivation, and 
produces beautiful crops of Indian corn, wheat, oats, rye, barley, flax, and 
all vegetables usually cultivated. 

The culture of beans and sorghum has been found particularly adapted 
to the soil and climate of this locality. 

H. F. Shearman, Esq., who particularly represents this Company in 
England, for the sale of the lands, has been furnished with plats, notes, 
and surveys, accurately representing the quality of soil of each tract, the 
streams and lakes, and the general topography of the lands. The descrip- 
tions have been prepared by actual survey, and are guaranteed to be 
substantially correct. Any selection of lands that may prove unsatisfac- 
tory, may be exchanged within seven months from time of purchase for 
any other unsold tract then owned by the Company in Martin County, thus 
giving a purchaser the right to select a tract at once, with the privilege of 
making a choice, within reasonable tune, from the whole body of lands 
owned by the Company within the County. 

"E. F. DRAKE, President.^' 



LETTEES FEOM ENGLISH SETTLEES IN 
MAETIN COUNTY. 



J. S. JVhittaker, Esq., of Willoiv Glen, Fairmont, writes^ Aug. 16th, ] 875: — 

^' I have been busy, or would have written to you before regarding the 
general appearance of crops. We are now reaping a most abundant har- 
vest : the corn, wheat, and oats are indeed very heavy, and all other crops 
are looking equally well. The beans promise a,, very handsome return ; we 
shall commence to harvest the beans in about two weeks' time, as they 
are ripening fast. 

^' Your statement with regard to the fertility of the soil I find to be 
perfectly correct — I believe it to be ' inexhaustible ' — and it seems to suit 
any crop that is not strictly tropicaL 

' ' I have travelled much — visiting every quarter of the globe — and I can 
truthfully say that I have never seen anything to surpass the fertility of 
the soil, and the beauty of the scenery. There is not the least doubt 
that money can be made rapidly here. 

" The climate I find to be most health-giving. During my stay in 
England I was seriously afi'ected with bronchitis ; 1 have been perfectly 
free from it since I have lived here, for the last fifteen months. 

" I suppose you saw from the Fairmont Sentinel that a few grass- 



13 



hoppers came our way ; I am very glad to say they did no damage, nor 
are they likely to trouble us next year. 

" In conclusion, I am happy to say that I am very much pleased with 
my experience and residence in tliis country." 



J. S. Scott, of Friehurg, Baden, vjrites, Sept. 22nd, 1875 : — 

''Having witliin the past few weeks visited Martin County, jMinnesota, 
and particularly the lands which you have for sale there, I have pleasure 
in stating that I formed the most favourable opinion, both as to the 
richness of the soil and the character of the climate, for agricultural 
purposes. 

" I was in time to see the crops of the present year, the yield of which 
is truly wonderful, and that without manure. 

" Oats are giving eighty-five bushels to the aqre, and broom-corn and 
beans (still in the ground when I left) are calculated to yield a handsome 
return. 

"An English gentleman farming there stated that tln^ee acres of • 
broom-corn would yield one ton, and that the current price in Cliicago 
is £60. 

" The district, with its tlu-ee parallel chains of beautiful lakes abounding 
with fish, and fringed with trees, is the most desirable for farming opera- 
tions coming under my observation in the States or Canada. 

" Having myself purchased land there from you previous to going out, 
I can safely recommend the County to anyone desuing to make the most 
of a limited capital in circumstances most favourable to health and enjoy- 
ment." 

The following appeared in the " Times" of May Uh, 1875 : — 

" There are so many English gentlemen of liberal education, but of 
limited means, who are looking about for some occupation, either in the 
Colonies or elsewhere, by which they can not only obtain a living, but 
materially improve their circumstances, that I consider my own experience 
abroad may not be without its use to those who entertain the idea of 
emigTation. Two years ago I had intended emigrating to ew Zealand, 
and anxiously enquired the probabilities of success in that distant Colony; 
and I foimd that, without a larger amount of capital than I could com- 
mand, there were delays and difficulties which I was not prepared to 
encounter. My attention was then called to Minnesota, United States, 
and from the very favourable report of the nature of the large and imme- 
diate profits to be realized, I determined to piuxhase some land, and try 
my luck in that State. Early in May, 1874, I and my wife started from 
Liverx^ool, and in fourteen days arrived at our destination. We found a 



14 



most charming country, a most enjoyable climate, and, what was more to 
my purpose, a soil of rich black loam, fertile even beyond my expectations. 
Last year was a bad year for farming, operations in those parts, on account 
of the plague of grasshoppers which exceptionally visited this State ; but 
notwithstanding this drawback, experience teaches me — and this is con- 
firmed by the settlers who have located themselves in Minnesota — that, 
taking one year with another, 100 per cent, per annum profit can be 
realized on outlay in the purchase and occupation and cultivation of the 
land. To a sporting man, too, Minnesota offers special advantages, 
which can hardly be surpassed in any country to which Englishmen emi- 
grate. Prairie-chickens, rabbits, and wild fowl of all sorts and descriptions 
are to be found in abundance, giving^ constant sport, and an excellent 
supply for the table. I could, indeed, mention many other advantages 
and luxuries which are to be found in this delightful country, which can- 
not be had by men of limited means in any part of Europe, nor, I believe, 
in most of our Colonies. But fearing to trespass too much on your space, 
I will only say in one word that I cannot believe any country will afford 
so profitable investments of small capital, such cheap living, and such 
sound advantages as Minnesota. Family circumstances will keep me in 
England until next spring, and in the meantime I shall be glad to give 
every information to any intending emigrant." 



From the " Liverpool Courier " of December 15th, 1875-: — 

"Sir, — As you have on several occasions kindly admitted into your 
columns communications about this country as a home for intending 
settlers, I shall be glad if you will permit me to relate my experience 
here, which I hope may be of service to any of my fellow-countrymen 
seeking a home in a new country, and still undecided where to pitch their 
tent. 

" I arrived here last spring, and after a night spent in Winnebago, the 
present terminus of the Southern Minnesota Railroad, and a three days' 
run from New Yoak, came on to Fairmont, the flourishing little ca,pital of 
Martin County, and justly so named from its lovely situation, and to which 
locality I had been directed by friends in the old country. The run of 
some twenty miles took me first through the richly- wooded country on the 
banks of the Blue Earth river, which strongly recalled the Thames at 
Henley, and then over the magnificent American prairie, brilliant with its 
rich waving grass and many-coloured wild flowers, till we struck the lake 
district of Martin County, which in an area of about fifteen miles 
square, comprises no less than seventy-four lakes, many of surpassing 
beauty, and richly-wooded down to the water's edge. After a week or two's 
looking round I bought a farm, a couple of miles north of the to-WTi, on the 
banks of one of these lakes, and have now had one season's trial of 



15 



American farm life ; and I can safely assert that to a man of small capital, 
and fond of an outdoor life, it presents advantages impossible to be liad on 
anything like such easy terms in England or any country in Europe where 
I have travelled. The soil is a rich black loam, of great depth, and the 
rapidity with wliich all crops advance to maturity, and" the luxuriant 
growth of many kinds of cereals, would surprise those accustomed to less 
genial soils. My crops, consisting of wheat, oats, and beans, were all of 
first-rate quality, and would bear comparison with those of the old coun- 
try ; and I had besides a considerable crop of the beautiful Indian com, 
which grows here to great perfection, and makes cheap and excellent 
winter food for horses, and fattens hogs with surprising rapidity. I have 
also a small flock of half merino sheep, a few head of cattle, and pigs of 
the Polin-China breed imported from Illinois, something like our Berkshire, 
only growing to much greater size : and in this way of mixed farming I 
can see my way to do very well on a capital wliich would be of no use at 
all on an English farm of the same extent. 

" Sheep especially and hogs can be made very profitable. The former 
can be bought for about three dollars, and the wool and increase give over 
7 per cent, every year. Hogs give nearly as large a margin of profit. 
Hay costs to buy only two dollars j)er ton, and can be made by one's own 
horses and men at much less cost ; and a summer's run for cattle or sheep 
a few miles ofi" on the prairie costs only the wages of a boy to herd them. 
Horses are cheap and good. I have four in my stable wliich cost me less 
than £100, and they could not be bought for three times that amount in 
England. The only drawback I know of is that at present labour is 
somewhat scarce and high. For this among other reasons, cattle, especially 
sheep and hogs, are far more profitable than gTain-raising for market, 
wliich requires many hands. I have carried on the operations on my farm 
with one or two men hired by the month, and am confident that with care 
and industry, backed by a little capital, and, if possible, experience in 
farming, a man may make a good living here. 

^' We are now twenty miles distant from a railway, but the surveying 
to carry the line on to Fairmont has already commenced, and a station 
will be opened in that town next autumn. This in America at once 
creates a large place, and of course enhances the facilities for farming, 
disposing of produce, etc., besides sending up the price of land. 

" The labour question will, I hope, shortly be improved, if not completely 
solved, by the efi"orts of Mr. H. F. Shearman, the apostle of Martin 
Colmty, well known and respected here for his efi"orts to introduce 
English settlers into tliis new county. I am informed he is organi2ing 
a plan to send out a colony of English and German labourers to a tract of 
land on the Sioux City Railway, not very far distant from this locality. 
This is a step in the right direction. Though I did not piuxliase my farm 
through Mr. Shearman's agency, and do not even know him personally, I 
should, from all I have heard and seen of his sayings and doings here. 



16 



strongly recoiumend intending settlers, especially in the case of young 
men sent out by their friends or guardians^ to consult him as to the farms 
to select, rather than deal with the possessors of so-called improved farms, 
the owners of which ask exorbitant prices for these improvements, which 
are practically worthless, and consist generally of a miserable house or 
cottage, a straw barn, and a few rods of fencing, all of which require to be 
pulled down and built over again before they can meet the most moderate 
demands an educated Englishman would make for comfort. Generally, too, 
from their total want of capital, not one-tenth of the farm has been brought 
under cultivation, but certainly all the timber possible to be felled has 
been cut out. I was personally fortunate in avoiding the many pitfalls set 
for the unwary, especially the English, by these veritable landsharks, but 
would recommend intending settlers to consult Mr. Shearman, or other 
gentlemen well acquainted with the locality, rather than run the risk of 
being shaved by a Yankee. 

"To any who wish to combine the pleasures of sport with farming 
operations, Martin County offers a splendid hunting ground. Prairie 
chickens and wild ducks swarm. I have counted flocks of near one 
hundred wild geese on the lake on which my farm stands. Cranes (better 
eating than turkey) abound, and larger game may be had in the big woods 
near Mankato, fifty miles north of us ; deer, elk, and a small black bear, 
and all close to a smart, lively town, with good hotels, etc., and no rough- 
ing, unless one wants to do it. To any goldseekers I may say we lie on the 
direct route to the new Eldorado, the Black Hills, to which they may get 
in about a couple of hundred miles, if they choose to run the risk of losing 
their scalp to a redskin. 

"We have now a pleasant colony of Englishmen in this immediate 
neighbourhood, and shall be heartily glad to welcome among us fresh 
settlers from the old country. 

" I am. Sir, 

"Yours truly, 

"J. M.FARRAR. 

"Fairmo7it, Martin County, S. Minnesota, U.S.A .^^ 



17 



SOUTHERN MINNESOTA 

MANUAL OF GENERAL INFOEMATION. 

Geological Formation. — The lower sandstone formation comes 
to th*e surface on the east side of the Upper Mississippi ; to these 
succeeds the lower magnesium limestone, which appears south-west 
of the lower sandstone ; next supervenes the upper magnesium lime- 
stone, with its underlying shell beds, lead-bearing strata, coralline, 
and pentamerus subdivisions, all lying south of the two preceding. 
South-west, again, is the cedar limestones, contemporary with the 
Devonian formation of Enghsh geologists. Whilst the intervening 
country specially referred to in this pamphlet is overspread with 
drift, a large proportion of this district consists of rich fertile soil, 
well adapted to all agricultural purposes ; and some of the lands can 
scarcely be excelled for fertility by any others in the world. 

Soil. — The Iowa State geologist, in speaking of the v/estern border 
counties immediately adjoining Southern Minnesota, says there is 
a warmth and mellowness of the soil which is so favourable to the 
growth of crops, that they are usually matured in Northern Iowa as 
early as they are on the more clayey soil hundreds of miles south, 
and that the soil becomes sufficiently dry to cultivate sooner after 
frosts and rain. 

Character of the Land. — Mr. Massey and Dr. Shumard report 
a large body of fine arable land adjacent to the St. Peter and Mankato 
rivers: — "On fairly entering the valley of the Minnesota river, we 
again find a fertile, well-watered, and desirable farming country ; 
the second terrace of land bordering the Minnesota may be especially 
cited for its fertility and advantageous position." " The soil is de- 
rived from the decomposition of the lower magnesium limestone, is 
usually of excellent quality, and rich in organic and mineral salts." 
" Some of the lands of Des Moines and Cedar rivers are not excelled 
for fertility in the world." 

Lakes. — An important and picturesque characteristic of the broad 
summit of this great watershed is the number of small lakes which 

2 



18 



abound throughout its area ; the surface of the country is literally 
studded with them. " Some of these chains of lakes form the sources 
of all or nearly all the rivers, and others, smaller and more numerous, 
are wholly isolated, having no apparent outlet. Many of these lakes 
are dotted with small wooded islands : their borders differ in appear- 
ance ; whilst some are surrounded by gentle grassy slopes, in others 
the shores are abrupt, with overhanging foliage ; their beds are 
generally pebbly, and very few have mud bottoms. The water is 
generally sweet and clear, and as cool and refreshing during the heats 
of summer as the water of springs or wells. All the lakes abound 
with fish of quality and flavour greatly superior to those of the 
streams of the middle and western States ; and they are the resort 
of immense numbers of waterfowl." — Br. Norwood's Eeport, Geological 
Survey. 

There are but few lakes in Iowa in comparison with those in 
Minnesota. Dr. White, the Iowa State geologist, says : — '* The major- 
ity of the drift lakes in Northern Iowa are some of the most delightful 
spots for residence to be found within the limits of the State ; 
their waters are clear and excellent, and their borders gravelly and 
clean. The regions to which these drift lakes are chiefly confined are 
near the head waters of the principal streams." 

Climate. — The dryness of the air, character of the soil, purity of 
water, beauty of scenery, and almost total absence of fog or mist, 
all conspire to give Minnesota a climate of unrivalled salubrity. 

The Bishop of St. Paul, in McClung's work on Minnesota, says : — 
*' The dry, bracing air of Minnesota is pleasant compared with the 
damp, raw atmosphere that characterises the winter of more southernly 
States. . . . The thermometer indicates a warmer temperature than in 
the Atlantic States of the same latitude ; the summer air is pure, and 
free from malaria ; the winter atmosphere, though cold, is dry ; fever, 
ague, bronchitis, and asthma are unknown." 

Extremes of Temperature. — The extremes of heat and cold 
are in all the States of the Union greater than they are in England 
or the Continent of Europe. 

The Seasons. — "The summers are like those of Pennsylvania, 
and the winters like those of New England, except that there is less 



19 



moisture in the air in the autumn and winter months ; the first frosts 
occur in October, but the streams do not freeze until the end of 
November. The air is pure, clear, and invigorating ; fever, ague, and 
kindred malarial diseases are unknown." 

" The bracing winters exclude many of the diseases which the 
prolonged heat of a more southern climate engenders." 

Through the winter there is hardly a day in which one would 
wet through a pair of thin-soled boots in walking over the dry snow." 

"We have a climate unequalled for comfort and health the year 
round; our winters, upon the severity of which our rivals so much 
delight to dwell, are by many preferred to our summers, pleasant as 
they are conceded to be. We are above and beyond the regions in 
which malarial influences prevail ; the health of our people, when 
contrasted with the middle, south, and south-western States, is alone 

sufficient to determine thinking men We have no rainy season 

here, no protracted droughts, but a medium all the year round." 

Rain and Snowfall. — Rain tables, prepared from observations 
recorded, for a series of years, at sixteen different places in Canada 
and the States, shows a mean of thirty-five inches, while the mean at 
Fort Snelling, in Southern Minnesota, is twenty-five inches. The 
mean summer fall for the sixteen places was eleven inches, and at 
Fort Snelling ten inches. In Minnesota one half of the spring rain 
falls in the month of May, the season of vegetable growth. The 
average snow fall is about six inches per month ; in Southern Min- 
nesota it is rather less. Long driving snowfalls are almost unknown, 
and rain never falls during the winter months. 

Government. — Each State has exclusive control of its own in- 
ternal business, and is, like the general government, divided into three 
branches — executive, legislative, and control. Minnesota is divided 
into 73 counties ; each county has a Board of Commissioners, Trea- 
surer, Auditor, Sheriflf, Clerk of District Court, Judge of Probate, 
Registrar of Deeds, Surveyor, Attorney, Court Commissioner, and 
Coroner. A county is subdivided into townships, each of which elects 
its own officers, viz., three Supervisors, Town Clerk, Assessor, two Jus- 
tices of the Peace, tAvo Constables, and an Overseer of Highways for 
each road district. 



20 



Taxes. — The State and local taxes are low ; the State tax of five 
mills on the dollar (about one penny in the £) is invariably reckoned 
on less than half the true value of the property. The local taxes vary 
indifferent counties and towns, the amount being dependent upon the 
extent of local improvements. The total of all taxes in Martin County, 
including United States and local, will average from 2d. to 8d. an acre. 
Many of the States having contracted large State debts, entailing of 
course heavy taxes, it behoves an intending settler to inquire into his 
liability in this respect ; in some of the Southern States land-owners 
have been known to forfeit their lands sooner than pay the current 
taxes. 

Aliens. — An alien may hold real estate in Minnesota, his title being 
in every respect as good as that of an American citizen. 

Law of Descent. — "Where no will is made, property descends : 
(1) in equal shares to the children ; (2) if there are no children, to the 
widow during life, and afterwards to the husband's next-of-kin. 

Military Duties. — EngHshmen settling in the States are exempt 
from performing military duty, or from the paj'^ment of money to secure 
such exemption. 

Rate of Interest, where not otherwise specified, is 7 per cent., 
but any rate not exceeding 12 per cent, is legal, if agreed in writing. 

The University of Minnesota was estabhshed by the legis- 
latare in 1851, and aided by a generous grant of lands. It is situated 
near St. Paul on a wooded eminence, commanding a view of the falls 
of St. Anthony and of the surrounding country. The institution is now 
in full operation ; it has classical, agricultural, and military depart- 
ments. There are five professors and five instructors connected with 
the departments of Agriculture and the Mechanic Arts. 

Schools and School Lands.— A land endowment of two sections 
on each township of the State has been set apart to provide a fund for 
the maintenance of public schools, the education in these schools being 
free of all charge. 

Free Farms. — Any settler who is a citizen or intended citizen may 



21 



become the possessor of from 80 to 160 acres of Government land 
without paying for it, by residing on and cultivating it for five succes- 
sive years. The law allows but one homestead privilege ; a second 
selection cannot be made. The interest in a homestead claim cannot be 
sold during the five years, nor can it be re-entered if it is abandoned. 

This Homestead Act is speciallj- designed for the poorer class of 
emigrants, who can put up with the hardships of pioneer life ; in the 
more settled districts all Government land is already occupied; there. 
is none now left in Martin County, 

The Homestead- Exemption Act provides that a Louse and • 
most of its furniture, SO acres of land, and some of the stock on it, 
owned and occupied by a,ny resident of this State, shall not be subject 
to attachment, levy, or sale, upon any execution or other process 
issuing out of any court within the State. 

Land Measurements. — A county is divided into 20 townships, 
each 6 miles square ; a township is divided into 36 sections, each 
1 mile square, or 640 acres ; every section is divided into 16 squares 
of 40 acres each. 

Numbering the Sections. — The sections are always numbered ^ 
from 1 to 36 in regular order, beginning with the one in the north-east 
corner, from thence to the west, then back to the east, and so on. All 
these sections have either a post or a mound of earth at each of the 
four corners, and also one in the centre, for the purpose of subdivision 
into quarter sections. 

Land as an Investment. — Judicious investments of spare 
capital in land in the States, owing to the rapid settlement and de- 
velopment of the country, are sure to realize good profits. In 1854 . 
the cultivated area of Minnesota embraced 15,000 acres, in 1860 it had 
reached 433,267, and in 1870, 2,304,683 acres. The lower priced 
lands should generally be bought for holding, and the higher priced 
for immediate occupation. 

Public Lands. — In the States east of the Mississijppi river the 
lands have nearly all passed into the hands of private owners ; and, 
indeed, in desirable districts anywhere near the finished portions of a 



22 



railway the State lands are immediateiy taken possession of by home- 
stead settlers. There is therefore but little option to an English gentle- 
man settling abroad other than to buy railway lands, unless indeed 
he can content himself to join in the advance guard with the hard- 
working pioneers. 

L#ower Priced Lands than those in Martin County can be bought 
through this agency in many of the border counties of Southern 
Minnesota and Upper Iowa. Their quality is often as good as those 
commanding the higher price, but they are as a rule either further 
away from labour, railways, EngKsh neighbours, or advice in cultiva- 
tion. They, however, offer excellent investments for capital. 

Private Lands can be bought, and in some instances at lower 
rates than railway lands. A purchaser in dealing mth a private 
owner must, however, take care to see that the title is good, and the 
property is free from mortgages or judgments, also that the vendor is 
a responsible person, as these liabilities often arise from the owner 
having overboughtj or overtraded his capital. 

The Share System. — Lands are constanly cultivated on this 
system in the States, the owner of the land receiving one-third, and 
the person finding the labour, stock, implements, and seeds, the two- 
thii'ds of the profits, or one-half only if he finds nothing but the labour. 
Either this or the rent system would be applicable where relatives 
or friends in England assisted in finding capital for those who were 
going out. 

The Choice of these Lands. — The district of Southern Minnesota 
has been chosen by Mr. Shearman after very careful consideration 
and comparison of its advantages and disadvantages with other 
States ; and the land in this special county has been further selected 
as being some of the best in the district. The railways for which this 
agency now acts have many thousand acres of land on either side of 
their lines, some at higher and some at lower prices than those now 
offered. And there has been no motive whatever on Mr. Shearman's 
part in making selection of this county for first settlement, other than 
the very sufiicient one that he considers it in all respects to be the 
best. Now that it has been so chosen, English gentlemen going 



23 



out to it will have not only tlie advantage of English society 
but the benefit of the assistance and advice which, given them in the 
early seasons of their settlement, will make the difference between 
success and failure, satisfaction and discontent. 

Terms of Purchase. — No land is sold on time, — a system which 
induces persons to buy more than their means afford, or their 
experience and capital can cultivate. A selection having been made, 
the money is paid to the bankers, who give a certificate of ownership 
for the land mentioned therein. This certificate is signed by the 
railway company and countersigned by the bankers. A purchaser, 
after this, has the right to exchange the land he has bought, at any 
time within seven months, for any other land owned by the railway 
in the county ; this exchange being made free of all cost and charges, 
and a full wai-ranty deed given upon the surrender of the certificate 
of sale. 

Out-of-door Work. — It is the uniform testimony of those who 
have lived for years in Minnesota, that they can work out of doors 
more days during the twelve months than in the Atlantic States. 

Labour. — Mr. Beckett, for some years a land steward of the 
Duchess of Westminster, visited the northern part of the State in 
1872, and says : — The labour question is not surrounded with the 
serious difficulties I apprehended, inasmuch as hundreds of poor men 
of almost every nationality have pre-empted Government sections ; 
and being very poor, they will readily help the farmers in harvest, 
and work their oxen on hire by way of procuiing means to manage 
their own lands." 

Manufactures. — President Scott, of Iowa, speaking of the wants 
of that State, urges the encouragement of manufactures, bringing the 
producer and consumer side by side, and says we export hides and 
import leather, burn straw and import paper, export wool and import 
its products, buy all kinds of pottery and earthenware with the raw 
material under our feet ; that producers may consume our surplus 
food, and that we may get the articles we consume at less cost ; we 
want tanneries, oil mills, paper mills, woollen mills, meat packing and 
curing houses, glue, cheese, butter, candle, and sugar factories, manu- 



24 



factories of earthen and wooden ware, and the multitude of imple- 
ments. 

Indians. — The remnants of the tribes who inhabited these 
districts have all been moved some years since to reservations west 
of the Missouri, a distance of some four hundred miles from these 
lands. There are as many North American Indians to be seen in 
England as there are in Martin County. 

The increase of population in Minnesota has been more 
rapid than was ever made in California during the gold-mining 
mania ; census returns show it to have grown three and half times 
as fast during the time of its greatest advance as the most rapidly 
growing State of the Union in the most rapid period of its growth. 
Yet this is not a land of mining desperadoes, or lawless frontier 
men, but of an industrious class of agriculturists who have flocked 
here not only from abroad, but from every State of the Union. 

Life and property are as safe in Minnesota as anywhere in Great 
Britain ; and crimes of any kind are less frequent. 

Fuel.— Wood is at present the principal fuel ; and the demand 
for this will continue until the Iowa, Dakota, and other coal-fields 
are brought into requisition. The adjoining State of Iowa has an 
area of more than seven thousand square miles of coal-fields. 

Cost of a House. — A wood frame house with eight rooms, 
matched floors and roof, tongued and grooved ceilings, well-made 
sashes and doors, will cost £200. The house should front the 
south or east, as the prevailing winds are from the west and south- 
west. Plans and specifications can be prepared here and sent out, 
and estimates received home from local builders. 

The best route is by Cunard or White Star Line from Liverpool 
to New York ; thence by railway to Chicago. 

Agricultural pursuits in England. — Half the capital which 
is necessary to work an English grain-growing farm as a tenant 
merely, will suffice to thoroughly work, as well as to obtain, the 
freehold of more land in the States. Is it well therefore to pay rent 
for another man's land wBon a single year's rental will purchase a 



25 



freehold of your own ? Apart from this, competition is so great for 
farms in England as to make it most difficult to obtain even a tenancy, 
and then the profits are so small as to make it impossible for any but the 
most experienced to make a living ; whilst in the States the fewer 
expenses and richer grounds allow so great an extra margin of profit 
as to admit of ruder cultivation and time for experience ; indeeed, 
it is well known that many of the most successful agriculturists 
in the States have had no knowledge of the subject previous to settling 
on their own lands. 

Agricultural Reports. — There is an increasing interest in, and 
demand for, information concerning agriculture, horticulture, stock 
raising, and manufactures, by those who are seeking as well as those 
who have already found homes in the West. To meet this, the Reports 
of the Commissioner of Agriculture are published by the United States 
Government annually. They are publications of the highest value, 
and of the utmost usefulness to all who are interested in the pur- 
suits of agriculture, and especially so to Englishmen newly settling 
in the States. 



GRAIN CROPS. 

The quality of Minnesota grain has fully borne out the predictions 
made in 1851 by D. D. Owen, the geologist, that "the land best 
adapted for wheat and most small grain, and in which the proportion 
of earthy, saline, and organic matter is distributed in the best pro- 
portion to impart fertility and durability, is the soil based on the 
calcareous and magnesio calcareous rocks, and which particularly 
characterises the country bordering on the Mississippi and its tribu- 
taries, between the 41st and 45th degrees of latitude." 

" Some of the most valuable crops care but little for the extreme cold 
of winter, providing they have the required amount of summer heat 
for ripening. The major supply of the principal grains come from a 
zone between the 34th and 48th degrees of latitude, and chiefly east of 
the 95th degree of longitude; and the most productive States are those 
having an altitude of from 400 to 1000 feet above the sea." — Climatic 
Register. 



26 



In Southern Minnesota grain is sown in April, harvested in August, 
threshed and sold in September. A profitable business is thus all 
accomplished in five months of the year. 

Crops of 1874. — Minnesota :— Indian corn, 7,548,000 bushels; 
wheat, 21,338,000 ; rye, 145,000 ; oats, 11,135,000 ; barley, 954,000; 
buckwheat, 45,000 ; potatoes, 2,465,000. 

Wheat. — Mr. Dalrymple, the largest wheat grower in the State, 
gives the following data as to the cost of wheat crops : — 



Fall ploughing dols. 2.00 an acre. 

Seed wheat, 1 J bushel . . . . 1.50 

Sowing and harrowing' . . . . ,, 75 

Cutting, binding, and shocking . . 2.50 

Hauling and threshing ,,3.00 ,.. 



,, 9.75 an acre. 

Crop of 22 bushels per acre in 1872 sold for 1 dollar 5 cents per bushel. 
Cost of land in 1864, 10 dollars per acre. Value of land in 1872, 40 dollars. 

Wheat is sometimes sown broadcast, but generally in drills from 
4 to 6 inches apart. 

" The wheat field of Mr. Wilkinson, of Goodhue, Minnesota, in 
1873, is reported as being two miles in length, containing 800 acres. 
At harvest time, seven reaping machines were worked, and after these 
came 40 men binding and shocking." 

" Statements on the wheat crop of Mr. Dalrymple, of Minnesota, 
put the yield for 1872 at 40,000 bushels, worth $44,000 ; net profit, 
$11,000. 

Winter Sowing. — Drill culture is unquestionably the best for winter 
crops. In Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Iowa, there is but little winter 
wheat grown, though Michigan, as far north as either, produces almost 
exclusively winter wheat. 

Spring wheat. — The proportion sown is about 40 per cent, of the 
whole crop of the States. One-third of the Illinois crop is spring 
wheat, a small portion of Kansas, and nearly all of Nebraska. The 
little grown in the New England States is nearly all spring. The use 
of the drill is nowhere predominant in the spring wheat regions, 
although the system is generally considered to be the best. 

Maize, — Indian corn, the great crop of the States, is chiefly used 



27 



for feeding stock, whilst wheat is grown for export or for city 
markets. The value of the maize crops of the whole States for 1873 
was over $447,000,000.; whilst the total value of the crops of wheat, 
oats, barley, rye, and potatoes did not exceed $540,000,000. 

Barley. — The following is from the Le Sueur (Minnesota) Sentinel, 
August, 1875: — "A farmer in Wabasha County bought 80 acres of 
prairie for 1,500, and put 70 acres of it in barley this year, from 
which he raised an average of 45 bushels per acre, which he sold for 
80 cents per bushel ; he thus paid for land and breaking, and all 
improvements, with the first year's crops." 

Oats. — The oats of this State are heavier by from three to eight 
pounds per bushel than those produced elsewhere. 

Rye and Buckwheat can be produced in abundance, and of the 
best quality ; but the far greater facility and profit with which more 
valuable products are grown, have caused a contraction of the area 
formerly assigned to their culture. 

Buckwheat is mainly a supplementary crop put in to ward ofi* 
anticipated scarcity, or when the season has been unpropitious for 
sowing the standard grains." 

Straw. — The straw of these cereals should be of some value, but 
with few exceptions it is burned, and its fertilizing value dissipated, 
except a minute proportion of ash. 

Flax. — ^A new branch of industry has been opened up in the culti- 
vation of flax, and the manufacture of linseed oil. Apart from the profit 
on the seed, the fibre finds a ready market. In 1873 about 7,000 
acres were under flax cultivation. Blue Earth County raising about half 
of all the flax grown in the State. 

Hops. — Hops grow wild, and attain a large size. Their cnltiva- 
tion would doubtless prove remunerative ; 93 acres yielded 114,429 
lbs. 

Root Crops. — The soil is so - rich as to be well adapted to the 
growth of all kinds of root crops. 



28 



Beet. — Beet sugar production, as an extensive and remunerative 
branch of industry, is still an unsolved problem in this country. It 
gives a rather larger yield of sugar than sorghum does, but it is more 
difficult to manufacture, and its syrup is worthless for the table. 

Grasses, etc. — White clover and timothy grow most luxuriantly. 
Millet produces a good crop. The native gxasses make excellent hay, 
and have been as yet but little superseded by other varieties. 

Sorghum. — Increasing interest is manifested in the cultivation of 
sorghum. The syrup extracted from this plant is like molasses, with 
a taste like honey. The yield of syrup is from 150 to 300 gallons per 
acre, and its value 50 cents to one dollar a gallon. The cost of culti- 
vation is about $15 per acre. A large grower in Iowa says one 
of the most important things is to select a suitable piece of ground, as 
all soils will not produce good sorghum ; it should be diy land. A 
warm, light, loamy soil will produce the best syrup. 

The Chinese sugar cane {sorghum saccharatum) was introduced into 
this country from France, in 1854, through the agency of the Depart- 
ment of Agriculture. The census of 1860 shows a manufacture of 
more than 6,500,000 gallons of sorghum molasses, but no sugar; 
and the census of 1870 shows 16,000,000 gallons of molasses and 28 
hogsheads of sugar. 

During the early years of the sorgo enterprise, the Chinese variety 
(a black seed) was generally used, but, later, the Otaheitan (a glossy 
brown), which is really an African seed, and is the best for sugar, but 
poorest for syrup ; also the Liberian (a deep red), which is a heavy 
producer, not affected by rust or blight. All admixture of the seed 
tends to the deterioration of the saccharine and the increase of the 
wood ; the nchness of the juice, and not the size of the stalk, should 
be the test of quality. Pure seed of high character should yield from 
200 to 300 gallons per acre. 

" The Otaheitian is thought to be the best variety to make sugar ; 
the yield is from six to nine pounds of sugar to a gallon of syrup." The 
following is another average of the cost of cultivating this crop: — 
Ploughing and harrowing one acre, $2*50 ; planting and hoeing, $4 ; 
shipping, cutting, and hauling, s6. 



29 



A sorglium grower says, plant early. The best syrup is made from 
cane not fully ripened. In working, the first thing to be done is to 
select a good crushing mill and evaporating pan. 

Sorghum has been grown in Martin County for six or eight years 
past, and has been very profitable, but has only been grown on a small 
scale — about an acre or so — by each farmer, for they have lacked the 
necessary capital for the purchase of crushing and refining machinery. 
£500 capital would be necessary for working 100 acres in sorghum ; 
that includes the cost of all necessary machinery for crushing, refining, 
etc. The prices set forth by Mr. McCadden, of Horicon, Martin 
County, in the following letter, coincide with the statements made by 
other farmers who have had experience in raising sorghum : — 

H. F. Sheaeman, Esq., — 

Sir, — In relation to your inquiry about the cultivation and manufacturing of 
sorgo syrup, I would say, after six years' experience, I shall sum it ap as follows, 
taking an acre as a standard : — 

Ploughing, 1 dol. oOc.j harrowing, 25c.,* marking, 15c.; planting, 40c.; 
rolhng, 25c. ; seed, 30c. ; hoeing, 3 dols. ; cultivating, 2 dols. ; stripping, 1 dol. 
50c. ; cutting, 1 dol. 50c. ; hauling to mill, not to exceed two miles, 3 dols. ; 
crushing and evaporating, including wear on machinery, 8 dols. ; one and a half 
cords of wood, 6 dols. ; making a total cost per acre of 27 dols. 85c. (or £o). 

I consider 150 gallons per acre only a fah yield, with fair cultivation ; -^A-ith a 
little extra cultivation it will overrun these figures. I have had no trouble to 
dispose of all I could raise at from 70 to 85 cents per gallon. A good article 
has always been safe to count at 75 cents per gallon. I shall sum it up as 
follows : — 

Dols. cnts. 

To producing 1 acre (Dr.) . . . . . 27*85 
To 150 gallons syrup, at 75 cents . . . 112*50 



Net profit on 1 acre . . . 84*65 

This is what it has cost me to produce it on a small scale, with only a two- 
horse mill ; on a large scale the cost of producing would be a trifle less than the 
figures here given. To this should be added 8 dols. for casks to hold the syrup. 

I would recommend Blymer, Norton, and Co., of Cincinnati, Ohio, as the most 
reliable company of which to purchase your machinery. 

EespectfuUy yours, 

E. J. McCadjjen. 

P.S. — I should have added to the proceeds of the above 20 bushels of seed,' 
which is worth almost as much as corn for feed for horses, cattle, sheep, or 
hogs. 

Mr. H. M. Keeler, a good practical farmer in Martin County, gives 



30 



the following statement: — In 1872 he planted one acre, and expenses 
were as follows : — 





dols. cts. 


One day's ploughing, harrowing, and marking.- 


. 3-00 


planting. . . . 


. 1-50 


Two days' hoeing 


. 3-00 


One day's cutting 


. 1-50 


Two days' stripping 


. 3-00 


Hauling four mile& 


.. 6-00 


Total cost . . . . 


18-00 



Product, 192 gallons, of which. he gave half for crushing and refining; 
so that 96 gallons cost him $18, or rather less than 19 cents per 
gallon. 

Planting ought to be done from the 7th to the 20th of May, and the 
crop should be ripe early in September. 

Mr. Keeler gives the following as the cost of growing sorghum : ^ 

dols. cts. 



Ploughing 1-50 per acre. 

Harrowing and marking -40 

Seed -30 

Planting I'SO 

Hoeing twice and cultivating .... 4-00 

Stripping 2*50 

Cutting and topping 2-00 

otal before refining, except the carting to crusher . . . 12'20 



An ordinary load of the cane would turn out 10 gallons of syrup. 

Beans, as a sod crop, are specially referred to elsewhere in this 
pamphlet. Until 1872 they were only cultivated in Minnesota in 
garden patches, but they are now being grown extensively, parti- 
cularly as a sod crop and in Martin County. 

Field Peas will produce from 40 to 60 bushels to the acre, and 
are worth from $1.50 to $2 per bushel ; the cost of producing them is 
less than $12 per acre. They are one of the few field products that 
are not grown in the United States in sufficient quantities for home 
consumption, and are imported largely from Canada. 



31 



Potatoes are unsurpassed in quality. A product of 250 and 
300 bushels per acre is frequently obtained, while 400 and even 500 
bushels have been produced under favourable circumstances. In 1872, 
26,000 acres were in cultivation for potatoes. Potatoes are often 
ploughed in in the spring, and ploughed out in the fall, without any 
hoeing or intermediate attention. 

Onions will be one of the most profitable crops. The yield is 
from 200 to 600 bushels per acre, and they are worth from 75 cents 
to 3 dollars a bushel ; as an average price, 1 dol. 25 cents per bushel 
can probably be depended on, clear of cartage, freight, etc. ; and the 
cost of raising them should not exceed 40 dollars per acre. One man 
near Martin County is said to have realized last year over 8,000 dollars 
net profit from 63 acres of onions. 

Markets. — A great portion of the crops are sold at Fairmont, 
Winnebago City, or the town nearest to the land ; but it would probably 
be found more profitable to send to Chicago or Milwaukee, and 
eventually, on wheat, directly through to England. 

Successful Farming here is a much more simple business than it 
is in England, and the knowledge of it may be readily acquired. The 
richness of the soil and saving in cost of tillage renders less necessary 
adherence to rigid laws which are essential to success in older coun- 
tries. In all new countries it is curious to find that some of the most 
successful farmers are men who have been brought up to other trades. 
Land which has been cultivated several years produces the best crops ; 
it is the large amount of sod crops which reduces the State average 
yields. There is the most money in a diversity of crops, and this 
avoids impoverishing the soil. With a proper rotation, and the appli- 
cation of fertilizers, the present richness of the soil could probably 
be maintained for ever ; but Minnesota farmers do not as a rule 
trouble to manure their lands, and will grow the same crops year 
after year, growing wheat perhaps for twenty years on the same land, 
without manure or change of seed. 

Seeds. — There is a United States department whose object is to 
distrS)ute as widely as possible small supplies of well-chosen varieties 
of seeds for experimental purposes. 



32 



It has been the province of this department to seek for the best 
seeds which the world can supply, to study their adaptation to the 
soil and climate of the country, and to put them into the hands of 
those who will make them profitable to the sections where they re- 
spectively reside. When any discovery is made in the method of cul- 
tivation or propagation, it is promptly communicated through the 
medium of a; monthly publication. . . . The counsel, advice, and 
information of the department are cheerfully given to all persons who 
apply for them on any subject which pertains to the business of agri- 
culture." — Report of Commissioner, 1874. 

Sod Ploughing and Planting is best when done in June. A 
particular stage of vegetation of the overturned sod promotes its rapid 
decay. A team of six oxen will turn an acre and three-quarters, or 
four horses will turn two acres and a quarter of sod a day. After 
the furrow is turned it is often planted in a rough manner, by chopping 
a place with the single stroke of a hatchet, dropping the seed in, and 
pressing it down with the foot ; but machines called hand planters 
are best to be used for planting beans or corn on the sod. Beans or 
potatoes are among the crops to raise the first year as sod crops. 
Shallow breaking the sod is preferable, say, to a depth of three inches ; 
it rots sooner, and produces better crops at once : heavier crops may 
also be taken from lands on which the breaking plough is followed by 
a stirring plough. 50 bushels of oats, 30 of wheat, and from 300 
of potatoes have been grown on the sod. 

Ploughing, Harrowing, etc. — Ploughing may be done during 
eight months of the year ; 2 J acres is a fair day's work. A man 
with a yoke of oxen and gang harrows will go over 20 acres a day. 
Breaking, ditching, etc., is done between seed time and harvest. 

Grasshoppers. — Whilst Southern Minnesota is free from many of 
the insects which prey on vegetation in other parts of America, it has 
suffered, with many other States, from a plague of grasshoppers, which 
has visited it three times during the past twenty years. The natural 
home of these insects is on the barren table-lands along the eastern 
base of the Rocky Mountains ; their flight is only occasionally known 
to extend into States outsides these regions. In 1873 and 1874 they 
destroyed most of the crops. 



33 



The Statistics of Agriculture, 1873, says : — " Grasshoppers have 
been reported as quite destructive in many parts of the country. " In 
New Hampshire they were numerous " ; in West Virginia they ap- 
peared in great numbers. " They were also reported thick in Illinois, 
Iowa, Nebraska, Colorado." "West of the Mississippi, their mis- 
chievous influence was felt from Texas to Minnesota." This report 
gives a long account of the damage done to crops by their visita- 
tion. 

Insects. — Except grasshoppers. Southern Minnesota has been com- 
paratively free from the insect pests which ravage many of the States, 
but, speaking generally, " there has been no period in the history 
of this country where farmers' crops have been so extensively depre- 
dated upon as in the past year (1873), and this has brought into active 
exercise the knowledge and industry of the Entomological Division of 
the Department. There is an increasing demand for information with 
regard to insects injurious to vegetation, and much pains has been 
taken to investigate the character of insects sent here, to point out 
their modes of infliction and the means by which their depredations 
may be avoided." 

Fungoids. — The Microscopic Division of the Department of Agri- 
culture has been engaged during the present year in making original 
investigations, mostly relating to the habits of parasitic fungoid plants. 
Among those investigated have been the black knot fungus of the plum 
and cherry trees, apple speck in Arkansas, potato rot, pear blight, and 
cranberry rot. — Beyort, 1874. 

Open V. Forest Lands. — Timber lands are increasing in value 
for the purposes of the lumberman ; but, so far as agriculture is con- 
cerned, the time has passed when men will hew farms from out of 
the forests. 

Mr. A. J. Eussell, Inspector of Crown Timber Agencies under the 
Government of Canada, remarks that the cost of clearing ofl" the wood 
is about three pounds five shillings per acre ; a further expense of 
twenty-five shillings must then be incurred to get rid of the stumps, 
entailing also ten years of labour before the land is in the same state 
as the settler on the partly wooded prairie land finds his when first 
he goes to it ; another objection to wooded countries being the 

3 



34 



obstruction they present to the spread of settlement, and the expense 
of opening up roads ; and after further remarks says it is not surprising, 
therefore, that so many European emigrants pass through Canada to 
seek the prairie lands of the United States. 

Another writer, speaking of the advantages of prairie over forest, 
says : — " Here the farmer may proceed to work at once ; the grass lies 
spread on the level prairie, he may cut any quantity which his needs 
suggest, he may cart it over roads made without the aid of man. 
The plough may be put into the soil the first day of his arrival ; no 
need to wait to fell trees, roll logs, or till sun and rain shall rot the 
charred stumps. Where the Canadian farmer ends, after years of 
ceaseless toil, there the farmer of this province begins." 

Timber. — The extent of timber in the most southern part of the 
State is limited, and it is chiefly found in belts and detached groves 
lining the borders of the numerous streams and lakes, and also in 
scattered growths called oak openings. This disadvantage in point of 
picturesqueness is counterbalanced by the ease with which a farm can 
be brought under cultivation, whilst for the purposes of building, or 
for fuel supplies, can always be obtained at very low rates. 

" A belt of forest (Bois Franc) crosses the Minnesota about latitude 
44-30, which is remarkable for its unusual body of timber in this 
country, otherwise but scantily supplied with wood." 

Trees. — Even in the forest States the planting ©f young trees is 
much advocated, and the importance of each farm growing its own 
timber is strongly urged. If nothing else is done, every farm ought 
to have at least an acre of black locust trees." An amended Act was 
passed in March, 1874, "to encourage the growth of timber on 
western prairies." 

Bounties for Planting. — As timber will increase in value, the 
planting of trees and hedges, if not immediately profitable, is much 
recommended. An annual bounty of two dollars an acre may be 
claimed out of the treasury of the county for every acre of prairie 
land planted with trees. This bounty commences on the third year 
after planting, and continues for twenty-five years ; and for every forty 
rods of ground planted with osage or hawthorn so as to form a grown 



35 



hedge, a bounty of two dollars a year will be paid for eight years, 
commencing from the date at which the hedge is sufficiently grown 
to turn stock. 

Varieties of Trees. — The principal trees indigenous to the 
State are oaks, cottonwood, elm, maple, linden, hickory, and walnut. 
The cottonwood has the most rapid growth, and is therefore valuable 
to plant as firewood ; it can be propagated from seed sown broadcast, 
or from cuttings. Sometimes slender poles of this wood are cut, 
trimmed of their branches, and notched with an axe at intervals of a 
few feet along their length, then placed end to end in furrows, and 
covered with soil by the plough. 

Evergreen, Ornamental, and Shade Trees are recommended 
by the Society in the order named : — Norway spruce, Austrian and 
Scotch pines, European larch, balsam fir, American arbor vitae, black 
spruce, white spruce, red cedar ; for ornamental trees, the mountain 
ash and white birch; for shade trees, white elm, basswood, white 
ash, box elder, rock maple, soft maple, butternut, walnut, hackberry ; 
for wind-breaks, larch, beech, and hemlock. In planting, procure 
none but small trees. The time for transplanting is from April 15th 
to May 25th. 

Hedges. — The osage orange thorn, or bow-wood, is much recom- 
mended for hedges, but it will grow to a great height. It is tough, 
strong, and elastic, with glossy foliage. Seedlings can be bought for 
about 7s. Qd. a thousand ; they are usually planted three feet apart. 
A pound of seed will produce from 2000 to 5000 plants. The 
honey locust also makes a good hedge. 

Grasses vary much in their character, habits, and nutritive values. 
From five to ten species will always grow better than one, and- 
animals flourish better on mixed grasses than they do on a single 
species. Mr. J. Stanton Gould, of New York, has written an excel- 
lent and practical treatise on " The Management of Meadows andPas- 
tural Lands." 

Wild Plants and Fruits.— -xl list of 727 plants embodies the 
observation made by Dr. Parry, in connexion with the survey of this 



36 



and tlie adjoining States. Amongst these are — clematis, anemone, 
larkspur, viola, yellow flax, red root, wild honeysuckle, prairie rose, 
geranium, cardamine, sundew, ranunculus, nasturtium, frost grape, 
wild bean, peanut, red bud, sensitive pea, liquorice, Indian turnip, 
spikenard, sarsaparilla, asters, cup plant, compass plant, mayweed, 
wild lettuce, veronica, painted cup, verbena, bergamot, wild ginger, 
water pepper, flowering spurge, mocassin flower, wild hyacinth, and 
many others described only by their botanical names ; strawberry, 
wood strawberry, , common vine, sand cherry, bird cherry, red, black, 
and flowering raspberry, blackberry, cranberry, crab apple, choke- 
berry, prickly gooseberry, ground plum, wild plum, black, and red 
currant ; hazelnut, common hop, onion, mountain leek, artichoke. 

Orchard Lands.~Too much fruit cannot be raised ; it does not 
seem possible to overstock the markets, the demand increasing with 
the supply, and especially so since the introduction of the various 
processes for preparing fruit for shipment. 

Fruits. — Almost all the fruits that flourish in England will grow 
well in Minnesota. Many of them are now extensively cultivated. 
Apples, cherries, plums, grapes, strawberries, currants, and goose- 
berries grow wild. Nowhere is the strawberry found in greater 
profusion, or of more luscious flavour. Fruit-preserving would be 
found a profitable industry. In 1872 a million and a half of apple- 
trees were growing in the State ; nearly 300,000 quarts of straw- 
berries were grown ; and about 500 acres were under cultivation 
with raspberries and currants. 

Currants should be grown from cuttings six inches long. In per- 
manent plantations the young plants should be set in rows five feet 
apart, at distances of four feet in the row. A small crop is obtained 
the third year, whilst a full crop will range from one ton to two tons 
per acre. The cuttings fetch three dollars a thousand, and the plants 
thirty. 

After patient experiment a degree of certainty in fruit culture 
has been attained. The progress of this industry can be read in 
the history of the Minnesota Horticultural Society, published in 
compliance with an Act of the legislature. At the first exhibition of 
fruits at Fort Snelling, in 1860, premiums were awarded for a few 



37 



crab apples. In 1866, Mr. J. S. Harris, a pioneer in fruit culture, 
exhibited 19 varieties of apples from grafted trees. The last meeting 
at St. Paul, in 1873, showed a further rapid advance both in number 
and excellence of fruits exhibited. 

Planting Apple Trees. — The ground should be ploughed ten 
or twelve inches deep ; the trees twenty or twenty-five feet apart 
each way, in. holes dug about twenty inches deep, and a layer of sod 
placed at the bottom, filled up and mulched with coarse manure. 
While the orchard is young, plough the furrows towards the trees 
until a ridge of six inches or a foot is raised ; or a mound a foot high 
and three feet broad should be thrown round, which will prevent the 
roots freezing. It is better to plant a hoed crop on the ground than 
leave it in grass. 

AppleSi — The following varieties of hardy apples are recommended 
ded for general cultivation :— For early autumn, Fetofsky, Duchess j fall 
and early winter, Fameuse, Haas, and Plumb's Cider ; late vrinter, Ben 
Davis. 

Plants used by the Indians. — Dr. Parry was, in the survey 
1848-50, instructed to collect as much information as possible with 
regard to the application of plants which had been in use among the 
Indians; He noticed, as a matter of interest, that several of the 
most useful native articles of their vegetable diet were connected 
with features of the country which seemed the least desirable for 
cultivation. Thus the cranberry grew best in marshes, the huckle^ 
berry on barren ridges, and the staple wild rice fringed the edges of 
lakes. Among other plants in use were the menispermum ca7iadense, 
a common vine, the root being a popular tonic ; podophyllum peltatum, 
fruit eatable, root cathartic; sanguinaria canadensis, me(\.\Q.m2i\ blood 
root ; Thus gabra, common species of sumach, the juice from fresh-cut 
branches makes an indelible ink ; staphylea trigolia, stafi" tree, a 
common vine used as an article of food in times of scarcity ; apios 
tuherosa, the mdo or wild potato of the Sioux ; psoralea escidenta, or 
Tipsinah of the Sioux, the Indian turnip • cornus sericea, kinnikinnic., 
used to mix with tobacco ; Valeriana edidis, has a thick fleshy aro- 
matic root, used as a food and medicinally; helianthus tuberosus, 



38 



artichoke, a eommon article of food; lobelia inflata, Indiidi-n. tobacco; 
huckleberry, collected and smoke-dried ; lojjhantus anisalus, valuable 
for its essential oil ; Jioarif paccoon, root furnishes a common dye ; 
flowering spurge, used as an emetic ; urtica canadensus, from the rotted 
remains of the previous year's growth of this plant the Indians 
made their fishing lines; sweet flag, made into mats; cat-tail, the 
down of the full-blown seed used by Indian mothers as a warm 
padding for infants' clothes; saggata7ia variabilis, the tubers when 
boiled furnished an article of native food, called also ivabesipimg, or 
swan potatoes ; dioscorea viUosa, a wild yam root, a remedy in biHous 
colic. 



STOCK RAISING» 

These lands are well adapted to the raising of stock. Shelter and 
feeding will be needed in the winter months. The grasses are 
sweet, nutritious, and luxuriant, wliile the root crops cannot be sur- 
passed. The many lakes and streams furnish a constant supply of 
pure water. 

The dryness of the soil and the purity of the atmosphere render 
it singularly favourable for sheep breeding, and wool growing. In 
1860 there were 12,000 sheep in the State, and in 1870, 129,000. 
The number has reached the maximum of 193,000, but there has 
since been a decline, doubtless due to the low and fluctuating price of 
wool. 

There is an almost limitless area of excellent pasturage, an abund- 
ance of pure water, a dry and healthy atmosphere ; and the native 
grasses, which grow in much luxuriance, are admirably adapted for the 
sustenance of cattle. - The train of diseases which the damp and vari- 
able eastern or southern chmates inflict upon animals are here nearly 
unknown." 

All through the States it is necessary to provide winter protection 
for cattle. The Agricultural Commissioner re-ports : — ''It is certain 
that the districts in this country are very limited in which farmers 
can afford to winter stock without any provision for sheltering or 
feeding them. He further speaks of the abundance of food in the 



89 



■western States as the cause of their condition in the spring being so 
good, and that it is quite made manifest that herds comfortably 
sheltered and sufficiently fed will pass through winter in thriving 
condition ; whilst in the south, from want of food and protection, 
' below average ' is the usual condition of all flocks in the spring." 
—Report, 1874. 

" The rigours of winter proved conclusively the necessity of pro- 
tection, not only in the more northern of the southern States, but in 
Texas, where large numbers of cattle, estimated variously at 100,000 
to 200,000 head, have succumbed to the combined agencies of cold 
and starvation." — Report, 1872. 

In 1873 there were in the State about 150,000 of each horses, sheep, 
and pigs, and more than 400,000 head of horned cattle. 

" The first annual sale of the Lyndale herd of Colonel King, near 
Minneapolis, Minnesota, took place June 19th. 28 short-horn cows 
and heifers were sold at an average of $614 ; 12 short-horn bulls at 
an average of S450 ; 16 Ajrshire cows and heifers at an average of 
$124; and 7 Ayrshire bull calves at an average of $66." — Com- 
missioner of Agriculture, 1872. 

Cattle Sheds. — Posts planted firmly in the ground with forked 
ends upwards, for the reception of strong beams, upon which cross 
poles are laid, and then threshed straw stacked thereon, afi'ord good 
shelter for stock : so that at a cost of from £3 to £4 you can warmly 
shelter over 100 head of cattle. 

Dairy. — "While the dairy factory interest is gradually extending 
in all directions, its greatest current expansion is to be found in the 
western and north-western States." 

Butter. — The waste exhibited in the matter of badly manufactured 
butter is so enormous that it rarely fails to be emphatically alluded to 
in the discussions of the Associations. In 1873, 8,823,660 lbs. of 
butter, and 772,630 lbs. of cheese were made from 185,691 cows. 

Milk. — " Professor Wellard estimates the average annual yield of 
milk per head at 1,800 quarts, of an average value of 2^ cents per 
quart." 



40 



Cheese. — Cheese factories are multiplying in Southern Minnesota ; 
the experience indicative of the quality of the milk is that as a rule 
nine and a half pounds of milk produce a pound of cheese. 

Hogs. — The breed much recommended is the Poland-china, or 
Magee, as healthy, hardy, and docile, bearing the variations of the 
seasons with indifference. They are the earhest matured of all the 
large breeds, and attain heavy weights. 

Pork Packing. — The number of hogs annually cured and packed 
in Minnesota is from 20,000 to 30,000, and their weight av-erages 
2301bs. each. The report of the Commissioner of Agriculture for the 
year 1874 says : — " Minnesota shows the largest average, viz., 237, 46 
pounds." 

Honey. — 232,948 lbs. were produced in Minnesota in 1872. 

Birds. — The list given by Henry Pratten, of birds observed in 
Wisconsin and Minnesota, contains many varieties ; on the St. Peter 
river and its tributaries, ninety-five species of birds that breed in the 
county were observed. Among them are the eagle, hawk, owl, 
whipperwill, martin, swallow, cedar bird, belted kingfisher, red- 
throated humming bird, nut-hatch, wren, blackcap tit, bluebird, thrush, 
oven bird, yellow bird, warbler, red hart, kingbird, chat, greenhet, 
butcherbird, blue jay, crow, blackbird, oriole, bunlorg, boblink, gros- 
beak, song sparrow, chewink or ground robin. Indigo bird, wood- 
pecker, wild pigeon, quail, ruffed grouse,. prairie hen, plover, heron, 
lark, tatler, rail, martin, coot, white pelican, tern, sheldrake, broad- 
bill, ruffle head duck, teal, mallard, wild goose, and the diven 

Fish. — Pickerel, bass, pike, sunfish, and nearly all kinds of small 
fish abound in the various lakes and rivers, and afford excellent fish- 
ing. 

Game. — There is plenty of small game, and in the spring and 
autumn countless flocks of wild ducks and geese. 



41 



BORDER COUNTIES OF MINNESOTA AND IOWA. 

The border counties of Southern Minnesota, and of Upper Iowa, referred to 
in this pamphlet, are situated in about the same latitude as the centre of the 
State of New York, from which they are from two to three days' journey by 
rail. 

SOUTHERN MINNESOTA. 

Rock County is watered by the Kock river, and by the tributaries of the Big 
Sioux. The soil is fertile, and the surface a rolling prairie. In 1870 it had 
about 150 inhabitants, and in 1873 about 2000. Lucerne, on the Eock river, 
is the county town. 

Nobles, watered by affluents of the Des Moines and Eock, has several lakes. 
The surface is level, the soil fertile. The St. Paul and Sioux City Eailway runs 
through a portion of the State. The population has quickly risen from about 
100 to 4000. Many of the settlers in this county came from Ohio. 

Pipestone. — In Pipestone county are large exposures of quartzite, the most 
important of which encloses the famous pipe stone layer, from which the 
Indians have manufactured their pipes from time immemorial. Pipestone 
Coimty has excellent soil, and an undulating surface, but railroad communica- 
tion is needed to make its lands valuable. 

Murray, has many lakes. The soil is fertile ; its surface a rolHng prairie. 
No railway as yet runs through this county. 

Cottonwood. — The Sioux City Eail runs through one comer of this county, 
which is intersected by the Des Moines, Watonwan, and Big Cottonwood rivers. 
The soil is fertile, the surface undulating. Windom is the county town. 

Jackson. — Surface uneven, though not much broken. It is intersected 
by branches of the Des Moines and Little Sioux rivers ; has several fine lakes j 
good timber, and water power on the Des Moines. Population in 1870 was 
about 2000 ; it has now nearly doubled. The Sioux City Eail runs through 
a portion of Jackson. 

Martin is drained by tributaries of the Blue Earth river, and has a chain 
of beautiful lakes. The surface and soil present every advantage to the farmer. 
The St. Paul and Sioux City, and the Southern Minnesota Eailway s are ^-ithin 
easy reach for the transit of farm produce. A, number of Enghsh famihes of 
good position are settled here on land bought through this agency. 

Watonwan, north of Martin, is watered by the Watonwan river and its 
tributaries. The Sioux City Eail runs through the county. 

Blue Earth. — North of Faribault. Three different lines of rail run through 
Blue Earth, forming Junctions at South Bend and Mankato. It is well watered 
by several streams, and has numerous very beautiful lakes. 

Faribault. — On the border line of Iowa. The Southern Minnesota and the 
IMinnesota and North- Western rails form junctions here. The streams are 
chiefly tributaries of the Minnesota. 



42 



Freeborn. — East of Faribault, and on the border line of Iowa. Has many 
large and reiy beautiful lakes. The Southern Minnesota EailTraT runs through 
it from east to west. 

NORTHERN IOWA. 

Lyon is the north-west county. The Rock river runs through it. Good lands 
are found here, with bodies of timber on the rivers. 

Osceola is chiefly prairie land, well adapted for agricultural and grazing pui'- 
poses. Its rivers are the Ochedan and Otter Creek. There is little timber in 
this county. In 1872 its population was about 1500. 

Dickinson, east of Osceola, has beautiful lakes, which form a good 
summer resort. The West Okoboji and Spirit lakes are the largest between 
the Mississippi and Missouri, Trees border the lakes and skirt the banks of 
the rivers. 

O'Brien. — The Little Sicux, Odecdan, Floyd, and several smaller streams 
afford an abundant supply of water. The soil is deep and fertile, and there 
is some timber on the streams. The Sioux City Rail crosses its north-west 
corner. 

Sioux. — The Big Sioux, Rock, Floyd, and Otter Creek are the principal 
streams ; along the Big Sioux the surface is broken and bluffy. The soil is very 
fertile. The Sioux City Rail crosses the south-west corner. 

Emmet and Palo Alto have largely the character of a summit region ; the 
valley of the Des Moines, from its entrance in Emmet to its exit in Palo Alto, 
deserves special mention for its fertility. 

Plymouth has the Big Sioux river for its western boundary. No other 
county is better drained than Plymouth ; some portion of the lands are broken. 
The valleys are splendid agricultural lands, and well suited for stock raising. 
The Sioux City Rail forms. a junction here with the Illinois Central. There 
is very little land to be obtained here on reasonable terms. 



RIVERS. 

Blue Earth, or Mankato river, described in Dr. Shumard's report (1849), is a 
tributary of the Minnesota ; from half a mile to a mile above its junction, the 
sandstone and limestone form abrupt cliffs seventy feet high. About four 
miles up the Mankato is the confluence of the Lesuer river, up which occm-s an 
exposure of lower sandstone surmounted by pebbles, boulders, and nodules of 
iron ore. The Psah river enters the Blue Earth on the left, about flve miles 
above the Lesuer. It may be ascended with difficulty for a few miles to where 
it forms the boundary between the outcrop of rocks of lower Silurian date, and 
the region of drift deposits such as encountered by Dr. Owen towards the heads 
of the Iowa and Des Moines rivers. The first good exposure of rocks on Blue 
Earth river is at Blue Earth-bluff, mentioned by Featherstonhaugh and other 



43 



explorers. It is composed of sandstone at the ba«e. capped with magnesium 
limestone and thin layers of green, blue, and yellow marl. The elevation of 
sandstone then generally decreases until it disappears at about the mouth of the 
Watonwan. 

The Des Moines, which rises in Southern Minnesota, is the longest andlargest 
of the Iowa rivers. Its upper portion is divided into two branches, called the 
East and West Forks, These unite in Humbolt County. Above theii' con- 
fluence the valleys of drift vary in width from a few hundred yard? to half a 
mile, and are in depth from fifty to one hundred feet below the general level of 
the uplands, but are quite above reach of the highest water, and are among the 
best agricultural lands. 

Big Sioux. — At Sioux falls, above the north-west corner of the State of Iowa, 
a quartzite formation outcrops directly across the stream and causes a faU of 
about sixty feet mthin a distance of half a mile, producing a series of cascades, 
with wild and romantic scenery. Along the borders of Sioux and Lyon counties 
abrupt bluffs appear on both sides of the valley. Some good mill sites may be 
secured along that portion of the Big Sioux which borders Lyon Cotinty. 

Little Sioux. — The upper branches in Dickinson and Osceola counties are 
small streams with gravelly beds and banks, and gently sloping shallow valleys. 
On entering Clay County the valleys reach a depth of about 150 feet. 

Rock. — This stream has exposures of red Sioux quartzite along its main 
branch in Minnesota. Its beds and banks are usually sandy and gravelly, with 
occasional boulders. 

The Upper Iowa is a comparatively short river ; it rises in Minnesota in the 
region occupied by devonian rocks, and flows across outcrops of hmestone and 
sandstone. Its valley sides are consequently high and steep. 



NOTES FEOM THE PRESS. 

" The lands of Minnesota are called the 'Wheat Field of America ' with good 
reason." — Magnet. 

'' The Minnesota wheat is excellent, and justifles the claim set up for that 
State as the finest wheat-producing portion of America."" — Bell Jle-ssenr/er. 

"The great agricultural resources of Minnesota have in recent years attracted 
jarge numbers of settlers to that part." — CJiamher of Agriculture Journal. 

" Minnesota is among the best corn-growing countries extant. There is no 
disguising the fact, we are over-populated in the old country, and cannot do 
better than look to Minnesota, or some other country affording similar advan- 
tages to emigrants for the investment of capital in land, and the employment they 
cannot obtain in England." — Land and Water. 

" There is no question of the valuable quality of the land in Blinnesota, and 
that good crops can be grown from it." — 31ark Lane Express. 



AMERICAN LAND AS AN INVESTMENT. 

A London daily paper, commenting on the disclosures made before the Par- 
liamentary Select Committee on Foreign Loans, says : — •• The evidence which 
they have laid before the public presents the melancholy fact that a large 
proportion of the earnings of the British public have been invested in trash. 
It may be that, despite this unhappy retrospect, new bonds will be issued, new 
shares will be created, and new dupes wiU find their way into the maelstrom 
of the Stock Exchange; but amidst them all the philosophy of Lothair will 
gain strength daily, that there is nothing safe but land. Other ' securities ' 
may again increase and multiply, and may afiiict this nation like the plagues 
of Egypt ; but land remains a fixed fact of our globe — the last acre of land 
has been made, whilst population and wealth must increase. While the demand 
increases the supply remains fixed. It may not be that everyone can own a 
farm or even a garden in England, but the land-seeker is nof bounded by our 
seas. Before him lies the whole world, over but a small portion of which is 
man in its fullest sense lord and master. Turn for example to the West : 
there millions of broad acres lie between the Atlantic and the Pacific, waiting 
for man only ' to be tickled with the hoe to laugh with the harvest.' . . . 
Millions and milHons of broad acres could be brought under cultivation with a 
comparatively smaU amount of capital. The security of the principal could be 
made as safe as it is possible in this world by a joint ownership with the former, 
or by a mortgage upon the land vsdth a fixed rate of interest, or a proportion of 
the profit. The expense of examining titles and registering conveyances would 
not equal a broker's commission for an * operation' upon the Stock Exchange ; 
and this once arranged, an annual and permanent income would flow to the 
lender in the proceeds of the sale of cotton, tobacco, wheat, meat, hemp, and 
staple productions. Capital employed in this way would be turned from unsafe 
to safe security, and fi-om unhealthy to healthy climates." 

I^ro7)i the ''American Traveller,''' Oct. \%th, 1875. 

QUESTIONS ABOUT AMERICA, WITH THEIR ANSWERS. 

To the Uditor of the ''American Traveller.''^ 

" Dear Sir, — As you edit a journal devoted to the interests of Americans, I 
take it for granted that you have writers on your staff who are better posted 
than most of our London editors in statistics relative to America's soil, — 
topography, agriculture, and commerce. On the strength of this supposition, I 
beg to ask you the following four questions : 

FiEST QuESTiox. — What part of America is the best place for an English 
farmer to emigrate to, with about £750 in his pocket? 

' ' Reply. — That depends altogether upon your own inclinations. If youjdesire to 
engage in manufactures or the fish business, you should settle in Massachusetts. 
If you wish to raise fruits for the New York market, or to make American 
champagne, try New Jersey or Delaware ; but if you are inclined to lead the 



45 



life of a hard-working practical fai'raer, where you can double tout investments 
in the least possible time, we unhesitatingly say, pui'chase a tract of land in 
the southern part of Miimesota, and take possession at once, with a full com- 
plement of American-made farm implements, in the convenience of which they 
ai'e far in advance of the rest of the world. 

" Second Question. — In what part of America are the people the most 
friendly and cordial to Englishmen ? 

Reply. — There is not a place in all America where an Englishman, and 
especially a labouring man, would not be both delighted and astonished by his 
cordial and brotherly reception from all classes. To this rule there are no 
exceptions. 

"Thied Question. — "^Tiat annual interest can a healthy, industrious farmer 
realize on his investment by purchasing a wild forest, and converting it into a 
first-rate farm ; and how can he learn what sections, States, or districts are 
growing the fastest ? 

" Reply. — This is a double question, and somewhat complicated. We will try, 
however, to make our reply cover it. Men no longer go into the /forests to 
make farms with axes ; that day has been numbered among the ' things that 
were,' for nearly three-quarters of a century. It can be done, however, to-day, 
at a profit of about two per cent. But this is an age of steam, of progress : 
shrewd practical men now purchase a large tract of prairie land in the southern 
part of Minnesota, containing a belt of timber suflaciently large for fuel, fences, 
log buildings, and the like, and thus lay the foundations for rapid and immense 
fortunes. In the spring, as soon as the frost is out of the ground, the farmer 
ploughs his land with a furrow twelve inches in depth, and on these overturned 
sods he will generally raise enough corn, turnips, and potatoes to support the 
family and to pay the expense of labour. The sods are all found decomposed 
the next spring, and the rich black soil, as mellow as an ash heap, ^^dll yield, 
if the seasons are favourable, from thirty to forty bushels of wheat to the acre 
for a number of years in succession, without di-essing. There are hundreds of 
farmers to-day in Minnesota who paid for their farms from the crops of the 
second and third years ; some, in fact, from the second alone — but these were 
exceptions, when industry, luck, and Nature worked harmoniously throughout 
the entire season. 

"A farm paid for from its own produce in three years looks hke a pretty good 
investment ; but that is only half, as land thus occupied and handled by a 
live man will always double in value during the same length of time, and com- 
mand a cash sale if the owner wishes to sell out. The successful pioneers 
through that section, are all in possession of five important requisites for ac- 
quiring wealth in frontier life — liealth, industry, temperance, cuteness, and 
tenacity ! Without even one of the five, they would have sold their improve- 
ments for a song at the end of the first year (as hundreds annually do) and 
have moved on to pastures new, for the benefit of those that followed. 

•• To obtain reliable information relative to the comparative growth of States. 
Cities, and Sections, there is no better way than to carefully study official 
statistical tables. For the benefit of "science, agriculture, commerce, and his- 
tory, an association of forty-two of the leading men of Minnesota employed a 



46 



statistician in the fall and winter of 1872 to ascertain the exact amount and 
precise character of every pound of freight that passed out and into St, Paul? 
over each and every raikoad, between the 1st. of January and the 31st of 
December, 1872, 

" About two-thirds of the State is north of St. Paul ; but there is so great a 
variety of soils and currents of temperature, that while a large portion of the 
northern part will for many years remain a comparative wilderness, the 
southern third is rapidly filling up with flourishing well-stocked farms, neat 
school-houses, and thriving villages. 

"We give the following few extracts from the statistical tables alluded to: — 



Impokts received at St. Paul from all portions 
of MiniieBota : — 



Butter {phjs.) 
Dressed Hogs (iVb) 
Oats {sacks) . 
Potatoes (bbls.) 
Poultry (ms.) 
Barley (sacks) 
Wheat (bushels) 



11,828 
10A32 
90.826 
16,847 
5.526 
18,758 
887,319 



Exports from St. Pavil to all parts of 
Mimiesota : — 



The soutliem third of the 
State sent in of that 
number : 

8.4.52 
9,790 
70.724 
13,227 
4.267 
14.775 
. 738,396 

The southern thiixi of the 
State received from that 
number : — 

19,431 

956 
232 
68 

. 9,059,297 
1,286 



Agricultural Implements (j>k(/s.) 38.592 . 

Potatoes (Uls.) .... 16,480 

Thi-eshino- Machines (jVo) . . 367 . 

Oats (sacks) 58,132 . 

Building Lumber (feet) . . . 10,298,797 . 

^YhiikJ(ms.) .... 4,053 . 

" The above extracts are fairly eloquent with important facts. They not 
only give a history of the soil, crops, and climate, but of the people, their 
energy, enterprise, and industry. It is quite unnecessary to point out any 
particular features, as they clearly reveal on the sm-face the kinds of produce 
and merchandise that various sections duy or sell. Owing to the immense 
patience, expense, and labour requisite for compiling these tables, from so 
many hundreds of freight books, the enterprise has never been repeated ; but 
the wheat receipts have since doubled at St. Paul, owing principally to the 
erection of an additional elevator of immense proportions. It should be under- 
stood, however, that the exports of wheat as given do not represent the yield of 
the State, but simply that which is shipped from St. Paul. 

" The great wheat gardens of the world begin at St. Paul and extend south- 
ward. The States of Minnesota, Iowa, and Wisconsin produce about one-third 
of all the wheat grown in the United States, or about one hundi'ed million 
bushels. 

Fourth Question. — What is frontier land worth per acre ? 
■' If you will kindly answer the above, and also indicate what you consider 
the wisest course to pursue in order to buy land without being smndled, you 
■will oblige a grateful 

" English Fakmer. 
" Rei)ly. —Yioniiei land, like everything else, is always • worth what it will 



47 



bring.' It sells for from ten cents (English five pence) to thirty dollars (or 
six pounds) per acre, according to soil, water, and market facilities. For 
quick and sure returns from crops, and a rapid rise in the value of the land, we 
vsrould always recommend a farmer to make his investments near a raikoad 
though he get but half the number of acres which his heart covets. 

Messrs. Shearman and Co. will give general information about land 
and farming in any of the States and territories of the Union. 

138, Fleet Steeet, London, E,C. 



" Of all sorts of thrift for the public good, I tvould above all others 
commend to your care the encouragement to be given to husbandry, and 
the improvements of land for tillage. There is no such usury as this.''— 
Lord Bacon, Works, vol. ii., 387. 







X » 1 X [ XXVIII 




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